niger

• republic of niger, country in western africa; river in northern west africa
the republic of niger is a country in western africa. over two-thirds of its territory is desert. it was a french colony, part of french west africa, from 1901 until independence in 1960. from 1974 until 1991, when political parties were legalized, the sole party was the national movement for a development society (mnsd). in multi-party elections held in 1993, mahamane ousmane, of the social democratic convention (cds), a member of the alliance of the forces of change (afc), was elected president. mahamadou issoufou, of the niger party for unity and democracy (pnds), a member of the afc, was appointed prime minister. rebel tuareg groups are a threat to civil order. niger is a member of the organization of african unity. it exports uranium. large foreign debts are a serious economic problem.